mySAP FI NEW GL - Useful Info

Less known functional enhancements in New G/L

Coding Block

User specific account assignment object (e.g. “Region” to support geographic segment reporting) can be created in FI using the Coding Block concept. One of my previous post explains this area: Click Here.

However, they cannot be posted to directly in other application components (Logistics, Controlling) è need to define automatic derivation rules.

Post Processing

Post processing of work lists now becomes relevant (similar to, for example, CATS transfers) as transfer posting errors may arise (e.g. if the FI period is closed when the CO entry is posted) – use transaction FAGLCOFIFLUP

Hide the Old G/L Node

Once you have become familiar with the paths for New General Ledger Accounting, you can run

Program “RFAGL_SWAP_IMG_OLD” to hide the classic Financial Accounting paths.


Segment Derivation

When using Segments in New G/L, the segments are picked from the profit center to which it is assigned. If there is not assignment the segment account assignment does not trigger.

But a custom development can be done using a user exit (BadI): FAGL_DERIVE_SEGMENT

Drill-down Reporting

Transaction FGI0 displays a list of defined program variants, which you can then run instantly.

Technical Info on New G/L

A new totals table is now available which can be used as a template in creating user specific totals tables as well.

FAGLFLEXT – Totals Table

With SAP New G/L, line item entries (ledger specific) are updated in a new set of tables:

FAGLFLKEXA – Actual Line Item

FAGLFLEXP – Planned Line Item

A new table is used to capture the documents posted in relation to the selected parallel ledger valuations carried out at the year-end closing.

BSEG_ADD

Useful Notes in New G/L

If at any time there is (though there never should be) a balance in the “Zero-balance clearing account” when document splitting is used, the following note needs to be implemented:

New GL Clearing Account Balance – 1049224

For any queries you can mail me at ssurenlk@msn.com

Authorization Group usage in SAP Financials !!

Introduction

This post details out the steps to cater to the requirement of a client to be able to control the duties of accounting clerks to a specific vendor.

E.g.

Accounting Clerk 1 should be able to access only Vendor 1 (e.g. VENDSTY)

Accounting Clerk 2 should be able to access only Vendor 2

Process

We can use the Authorization group concept available in the vendor master in order to do this.

Step 1

Define an Authorization Group

1. Go to SE54
2. Enter the table “LFA1”
3. Select the radio button “Authorization Group”

4. Click on “Create/Change”
5. Create a “New Authorization Group”
6. Save

Step 2

Enter the relevant Authorization Group in the Vendor master.

1. Go to XK02
2. Enter the Vendor No, select the tab “Accounting Info”
3. Enter the “Authorization Group”

4. Save

Step 3

Enter the relevant Authorization Group in the role that is assigned to the Accounting Clerk

1. Go to PFCJ
2. Enter the Role that has been assigned to the relevant Accounting Clerk

3. Click on “Change”
4. Go to “Authorization Tab”
5. Click on “Change Authorization”

6. Go to “Financial Accounting -> Vendor : Account Authorization”
7. Specify the Activity “Change”
8. Specify the “Authorization Group ”

This means that the Accounting clerk attached to this role can only change the vendor account whom have been assigned this “Authorization Group” in the master (as shown in Step 2 above), do the same for the other roles of the other Accounting Clerk with their respective Vendors Authorization Group.

For any queries or feedback, drop me an email at : ssurenlk@msn.com

Have a nice day !!

Preparing for the rebound !!

By S.Suren

Looks like there are some companies already planning to dish out some new offerings once the economy begins to show signs of recovery.

• SAP has its eye on going all out with its SaaS oriented Business ByDesign solution very soon, though they wouldn’t specify a date the experts predict it should be rolled out in the near future.

• ERP Consulting companies believe that there could be a growing demand for ERP solution in parts of Latin America very soon and have begun investing in these regions.

• Large ERP vendors are spending more time to work on the technology changes to their system architecture right now, to make sure that their products are up, running and available to the markets that most need it once the investment dollars are back in business.

It’ll be interesting to see the products that are to be dished out, my prediction is there is going to be a price war when things begin to look up and these could well mean that there are lot of bargains to be enjoyed by customers, so if you are one make it count!!

Have a nice day!!

ssurenlk@msn.com

Positive from the recession!!

Well, we’re still in recession and it doesn’t look like improving anytime soon, but then there are still some good that has come out of this recession.

• Scammers who thought they could always get away with Ponzi scheme now believe that someday they will have to pay for it.

• People who have been laid off have taken on to do their own little businesses with which they feel more secured and begin to realize their entrepreneurship skills.

• A shift in attitudes, everyone is open to take on all kind of odd jobs to survive this recession and in the process begin to appreciate that any job can bring satisfaction.

• Everyone is more interested in the financial markets now than they were before the recession, their interest is only likely to grow during recovery and beyond, which means more involvement in the financial markets are likely in the post-recovery period which could lead to a closely monitored market that cannot be influenced only just by few corporate or individuals.

• More stringent government policies have been put in place in controlling the activities of large corporate (so I’ll like to think).

• From now on not every tom, dick and harry would be appointed as CEO of large corporates since now everyone realizes how their incompetence could lead to far reaching consequences. This means only those who have a genuine interest, understanding and the right attitude would also take on the job.

• People spending less on unimportant stuff and getting to better understand how much they could have saved in the first place.

• For those who have been laid off and who have been spending more time with their family, begin to realize on an emotional level what they have been missing while they were at work. From here on they will see things differently when it comes to balancing work life with personal life.

Those were just some of the good, I’m sure there are many more that can be considered, for instance, imagine the positive impact on the environment due to the fall in demand in the travel industry, carbon emitting production plants that are out of business etc., however this is something only most conversationalist will agree with, I guess. Related topic: GREEN ERP.

Hope you found this post interesting.

SRM (Supplier Relationship Management) and SAP AFS !!

By: S.Suren

In my previous post I listed out a few important things about SCM and the basics that need to be followed to build a efficient Supply Chain Management model. In relation to that post I would like to discuss the importance of SRM (Supplier Relationship Management). This is not a very widely spoken about subject simply because CRM has taken the spotlight away from this since the golden rule “customers are king” is more prominent in any industry and thats why the sources of supply have not been given that much of attention than the receiving party, the customer.

However, the impact of a good SRM model would definitely help in providing world class customer service. So then, let’s look at SRM in a little more detail in the context of the Apparel Industry.

SRM is more likely to play a vital role in the manufacturing companies and especially those that have very complicated products, and this is exactly what the AFS Industry is all about. Given the unique fashion needs of each and every individual it’s only apparent that this leads to complex BOM Structures that go into producing the garments that caters to these needs.

Given that fact, it’s likely that there are many suppliers that the manufacturing company will need to work with in the most efficient manner to make sure that they receive the right materials at the right quantity and quality to be able to produce quality garments and deliver them to the market at the right time.

In the AFS Industry even a simple BOM (Bill of Material) Structure for a garment would have many different components in it, for example, the button, the thread, the elastic, the embroidery material, the fabric, the embellishments etc etc.

So then how does that SAP Standard R/3 and AFS Solution caters to these needs, below is a listing of some of them:

• Sorting and Vendor ranking criteria – This option in SAP AFS proposed the best vendor to assign the purchase requisition to , based on the criteria’s specified in here.

• AFS Specific Criteria for Vendor Ranking: These include criterias such as Factory Status, Complexity Factor and Lowest ‘FOB’.

• Ability to use Fixed Criterias (AFS Enhancement available) – Using this option you can also rank and maintain the best vendor to buy from taking into account criterias such as , vendor capacity, quotas the vendor is subject to and political restrictions placed on vendors that are from a particular region.

• Complexity Factors – using this option you can judge the extent to which the vendor has the ability to be able to produce a material that requires complex production steps.

• Route Determination (AFS Enhancement available) – Even the move time, lead time and shipping types can be maintained.

• Subcontracting – With the inclusion of being able to set preference sub. Indicator for those vendors who use provision components in the material that is supplied to you.

So there you go, these are just some of the functions available. It can be argued that the information from transactions done with suppliers can be retrieved and reported in tools available in modules such as BI and FI. Perhaps in my future posts I shall discuss on these aspects.

Hope you found this post informative. Feel free to contact me on ssurenlk@msn.com if you have any queries.

For more information of features avaible on supplier management, click here.

Have a nice day!!

SAP FI Coding Block Config !!

Coding Blocks

In the coding block of the system you can create your own fields. The new coding fields can then be used in FI General Ledger accounts, MM Inventory Management and MM Purchasing, and are also updated in the line items created in the Controlling applications.

These fields can then be used to input data you want to record when entering documents in SAP.

Activity Edit Coding Block
Path IMG -> Financial Accounting (NEW) -> Financial Account Basic Setting (New) -> Ledgers -> Fields -> Customer Fields (OXK3)

In the below example, we are going to be adding a field to record the “Users HR ID”. This will be updated by the user when entering the document in the user, with his/her own HR ID.

Note : It is vital that the fields to be added in the Coding Block be decided before hand and the relevant modification made before other customization efforts, since adding a new field will update the tables in SAP.

Step 1 : Add Field

Step 2 : Enter the Development Class and the Field attributes.

Step 3 : Execute in “Test Run” to check for any errors.

Step 4: Create a Coding Block Field and save the Transport Request ID. This would be a workbench request.

Step 5 : Next make the FIELD as Optional/ Mandatory in the Field Status of the Posting Key and the Field Group.

And that’s it, now you would get this field every time you enter a transaction for this posting key and the account with the field status group to which this field has been made available.

Hope this you found this post informative. Feel free to drop me an email on the below address for any quick clarifications.

Have a nice day !!

suren@erparena.com

Are we coming out of it ??!!

By S.Suren

Yes, it’s about the economy. After almost a year in recession, are we beginning to see some signs of improvement ?

With the economic environment stabilizing for 2 worst hit sectors in the UK, things there could be looking up, though not a recovery at least the economy for these sectors have begun to stabilize.

It has been mentioned by many experts that Japan’s economy could be the first to look up. The signs for these are beginning to show in the Nikkei. The Nikkei 225 was up 0.4% and the Japan's industrial output rose in May for the third straight month indicating improvement in its manufacturing sector, but this does not necessarily indicate that it’s an improvement; experts say we are still a long way away from that.

There seemed to have been a recovery in the Asian stock markets as indicated by a 35% rebound in the MSCI Asia-Pacific Index, and the investment banks in Asia have seen a rise in fees in the second quarter which rose 37% over the last quarter to their highest quarterly level in a year.

We could perhaps interpret these as good signs of things to come. Let’s just hope that everything turns back to normal again, and then make sure that a framework is setup for trading of financial instruments and avoid having the entire world economy depend on the inability of a few organizations to practice proper trading of their financial instruments.

But then if we had read the signs from the first time it happened, this wouldn’t have happened again...so whats to say it won’t happen again..maybe not as a direct consequence of “Toxic Debt” but perhaps something even more noxious!!

Peace out!!

Figures as at 29th June 2009.

suren@erparena.com

SAP AFS Split Valuation

By S.Suren

What is Split Valuation?

Split Valuation means managing a material as several partial stocks. Each partial stock is valuated separately.

Split Valuation in AFS

In the apparel industry one of the main reasons behind using Split Valuation would be to valuate the RMs differently based on their SKU levels.

For instance, the various sizes of men’s pants have significant differences in their material input (e.g. zippers). Therefore, the large, medium and small sizes should be valuated and costed separately.

Activate Split Valuation

Path : IMG -> Material Management -> Valuation & Account Assignment -> AFS Split Material Valuation

TCode :OMWC

AFS uses its own special valuation category X for split valuation. Valuation types are not maintained in Customizing but separately for each material in the material master´s AFS Valuation view.

Quick 3 Steps Setup Process

1. Define the global valuation type

2. Define the global categories - This is where we mention which valuation category is to be linked to which valuation types as default.

Note: Activate the valuation type to valuation category.

3. Assign the Valuation Category: Valuation Type combination to Category to Organisational Unit.

Note: Activate the valuation category to the plant.

And thats it, those are the simple steps to setup split valuation characteristics and definition. Once this is done you need to maintain the material master accordingly, this is detailed out

below :

Steps to use Split Valuation in SAP AFS Material

1. Create a Material with a Grid and specify the ”Valuation Category“ as “X“ in the Accounting 1 tab.

2. In the “AFS Valuation“ tab you need to now enter the “Valuation Type“ code for the relevant “SKU“ .

In the above example, my requirement is to valuate the material based on 3 main sizes, i.e. XS, M and L.

Using the Preferred SKU option, I have decided that :

• Size XS and S will be valued similarly

• Size M will be valued seperately

• Size L,XL and XXL will be valued similarly.

3. Save.

Thats about it. Now you could valuate materials different based on their special characteristics, known as Valuation Types in Split Valuation.

Hope you found this post informative. For any queries, suggestions and comments feel free to email me on suren@erparena.com.

Have a nice day !!

SAP New G/L Document Splitting

Document splitting is a new feature in the new General Ledger that enables you to create balanced financial statements for entities such as profit centers and segments.

The predefined splitting method (0000000012) covers the majority of business scenarios but some cases still require you to go beyond the standard splitting functions. With document splitting activated, the system splits accounting line items according to splitting rules.

Setting in Document Splitting

• Splitting Method : Standard method used 0000000012, Modifiable
• Splitting Rule : Combination of Document Splitting Method, Business Transactions and Variants – Modifiable
• Item Categories – System Defined
• Standard Variants – Standard 0001, Modifiable

Document Splitting Structure :

Steps 1 :

The system checks if the entry for the account has been maintained in the document splitting setting : “Classify G/L Accounts for Document Splitting”, the “Category” defined for the relevant account is then identified.

Steps 2 :

The system then checks the “Classify Document Types for Document Splitting” for the document type setting as per the document type that was entered. In this case it is “KR”.

Steps 3:

The system then checks the “Define Document Splitting Rule” to check for the transaction “0300” :

The system then checks the “Item categories assigned to this (higher level)” in the same window to the left:

The system then checks the “Base item categories” under the above item category, and if this category has been specified in the first setting in Step 1, this is taken as the base in calculating how the Vendor value should be splitted.

The above was a brief on how the Document Splitting functionality works in SAP. Hope you found this post useful, for more information with examples on this functionality, feel free to drop me an email.

suren@erparena.com

Have a nice day !!

SAP AFS Specials !!

This post is in response to the mails I have got from my readers, to list out the key features of SAP AFS IS that distinguishes it from the standard SAP R/3 offerings.

SAP® Apparel and Footwear (SAP® AFS) is SAP's solution for the apparel and footwear industry, which meets challenges in the trade like managing the enormous volumes of data that come with ever-increasing design variations, the changing seasons, and huge numbers of Stock Keeping Units (SKUs). Challenges like creating effective marketing strategies that convince business customers and consumers to buy your lines despite increasing competition and price transparency. Challenges like managing collaborative business scenarios, partnerships, and licensing agreements. And challenges like dealing with vertical integration as manufacturers venture into retailing and as retailers expand into production.

SAP Apparel & Footwear Solution

Industry Introduction

The Apparel & Footwear Industry is a challenging industry where trends are created overnight and fashion changes very variably, there is growing pressure on the companies involved in this industry to efficiently manage all the networks and interlinks of the supply and value chain and related operations that go into delivering the final product to consumer at the right time.

The AFS Industry puts a considerable strain on the monitoring of domestic and foreign production thereby creating a complicated value chain that can be the deciding factor in determining the bottom line.

The AFS Industry puts a considerable strain on the monitoring of domestic and foreign production thereby creating a complicated value chain that can be the deciding factor in determining the bottom line.

A common practice in this industry has been the outsourcing process powered by high levels of division of labour. These practices have been the greatest cost-cutting drivers in the production process of companies in this industry.

With a spread out of production sites around the world, the importance of supervising and monitoring these production sites have become more challenging, especially with the increase in transport costs and meeting sales deadlines.

The core processes in this industry such as raw material planning & procurement, new product designs & innovations, production efficiency, coordination and control, are taking on more and more importance and therefore more often than not are centralized.

Initiation of SAP AFS Industry Solution

In January 1996, the SAP Munich development group began developing an industry solution to cater to the needs of the apparel and footwear industries and this was to be delivered by December 1997 and that was when SAP Apparel and Footwear Solution was delivered.

The new solution was developed in conjunction with such industry leaders as Reebok International Ltd and VF Corp and today this Industry Solution is being used by more than 60+ SAP AFS Customers worldwide.

SAP AFS enables you to benefit from the latest SAP technology and infrastructure enhancements. It continues to be the obvious choice for companies operating in the apparel and footwear sector.

SAP AFS Solution Characteristics

• Ability to Handle Grids

The main addition that SAP AFS gives to the standard SAP Solution is the ability to handle sizes. This is defined in the system as Grids. SAP AFS is also designed keeping in mind the details involved in production, procurement, sales & distribution and materials in an Apparel Environment.

SAP AFS is presently been categorized under the “Consumable Products” in SAP’s List of Products. Though SAP AFS Solution is primarily used in the Apparel & Footwear sector, given its design the features it also serves other industries such as jewellery and furnitures as the solution provides the ability to handle sizes.

• Seasonality in SAP AFS

Season play a very important role in the product life cycle of the apparel industry. Since apparel is very much dependant on the season, the planning and production carried out needs to be aligned with the demand of the relevant season.

The seasonality functionality is an integral part of the Sales & Distribution Module in the SAP AFS Solution. This functionality is integrated together with the ability to handle grids, thereby providing a broader usage scope of the functionality itself.

Seasons in AFS also include the ability to maintain collections and themes for each season. The presence of these features help in further classification of the offering for a season apart from providing a concept for each category of product offering.

• AFS Categories

It’s a known fact that there are large volumes of data involved with maintaining AFS Materials. This is where categories come in to logically segment materials. The categories that are usually maintained in the AFS Industry is based on the quality level, type of customer and regional requirements.

These categories are of 2 types:

• Requirement Categories

• Stock Categories

These categories are used in the Material Master with the coverage strategy assigned to it. The coverage strategy determines how the requirements categories are assigned to the stock categories. This assignment takes place during the availability check, the MRP and the allocation run.

The 3 main characteristics above is what distinguishes the highlighting features that SAP AFS IS has when compared to standard SAP R/3.

I hope you found this post, informative and interesting. Your suggestions and queries are welcome at suren@erparena.com.

A few Other SAP AFS Article on this site :

Challenges in the Apparel Industry : Article 1 / Article 2 / Article 3

For more SAP AFS Artciles click on the labels section (right hand side).

Have a nice day!!